Coca Beds Managing Director Daniel Ibtson and founder of Brett Ibtson.attributed to him:Stephen Gosati
Under the direction of Daniel, the product offering was simplified: a set of 10 bed bases was reduced to two. The older Epeptson found a way to pack all the parts into one box. Daniel worked on creating a website, and brought the brick and mortar company online for the first time.
“[We got a] Great reaction right away,” says Daniel. “We couldn’t believe how many beds we were making, so we had to hire more people quickly.”
The brand got a makeover: Quokka Beds are a lot less colorful and simpler than Brett’s Beds + Futons. It’s also a small nod to its more popular ranked competitor, the koala. “We definitely took inspiration by playing lightly on them as well,” Daniel says.
The pandemic helped accelerate Quokka’s momentum. People were spending more time at home, with online furniture sales swelling during that time. Quokka Beds generated nearly $2.3 million in revenue for the 2022 fiscal year, compared to $380,000 in 2019.
They can back up their claims that they are loved by customers too: The Quokka Beds wooden base has been the winner of the annual ProductReview.com.au Awards in the bedding category two years in a row.
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According to Ibbitsons, the biggest point of difference for Quokka is that the beds are entirely made in Australia. Where the Koala has received some negative backlash for its 2020 decision to move its manufacturing to China, the Quokka bed bases are made from sustainable wood from certified Australian farms and then hand-built in Perth.
Brett notes that furniture manufacturing has declined dramatically in the past two decades. “We can make it here. Although our costs are high, we can still compete with these imported products.”
The father and son duo want to prove they can operate as a startup, while rejecting “fast furniture” as a commitment to quality. “Almost nothing is made in Australia from hardwoods – and that’s definitely a huge market gap we’ve entered there,” says Daniel.
Meanwhile, their mattresses are made of organic Sri Lankan latex. “We need to find the best product, and that’s where it is,” Daniel says. Only four companies in the world supply organic latex, and three of these suppliers are in Sri Lanka. Brett adds that its production is considered carbon negative.
The pair is still trying to keep up with the demand. Ibbitsons started a crowdfunding initiative on crowdfunding platform Birchal to move to a factory twice the size of its current facility and hire more people, although they admit the job market is too tight.
They also plan to increase their marketing spend. Despite Epbitson’s little prowess with digital marketing, they say most of their growth has been the old-fashioned way.
“He sold the same kind of product,” Daniel says. In the past three or four years, they’ve only spent about 1 or 2 percent of their revenue on marketing. Oral speech, more or less, adds Brett.
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Originally published at Melbourne News Vine
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